Operator News

Germany – Antitrust authorities approve the purchase of the NRW casinos by the Gauselmann Group

By Phil - 6 September 2021

The award procedure of the WestSpiel Group in North Rhine-Westphalia, which ended in mid-July, has officially been concluded with all the responsible antitrust authorities approving the sale. On September 1, 2021, WestSpiel can be taken over by the East Westphalian Gauselmann Group.

The purchase agreement between NRW.BANK and the Gauselmann Group for the takeover of the casinos in NRW was signed on July 20. After approval by the antitrust authorities, the official takeover will take place on September 1, 2021. This means that the casinos in North Rhine-Westphalia will be the youngest member of the Gauselmann Group. The family company can thus expand its casino portfolio to include the locations of Aachen, Bad Oeynhausen, Dortmund-Hohensyburg and Duisburg and also has the option of opening two more locations in North Rhine-Westphalia .

“We look forward to welcoming the new employees to our company. Together we will become the casinos in North Rhine-WestphaliaAlign it even more successfully,” said company founder and board spokesman Paul Gauselmann.

David Schnabel, Managing Director of Merkur Spielbanken, said: “We used the time between the signing of the purchase contract and the final approval by the antitrust authorities to prepare for the integration of the casinos into the group of companies. In addition to the technical and organizational aspects, the focus was in particular on the personal introduction of the management to the colleagues in the casino locations and the headquarters in Duisburg. We will intensify this dialogue in the coming weeks and have planned welcome events for all new colleagues in our training center at Schloss Benkhausen.”

Caption: David Schnabel, Managing Director of Merkur Spielbanken